Mechanism for removing residues from vertical retorts.



A. ROITZHEIM & W. REMY. MECHANISM FOR REMOVING RESIDUES FROM VERTICAL RETORTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 20, I912.

Patented June 22, 1915.

ALEXANDER ROITZHEIM AND WILHELM REMY, F DUISBURG-RUHRORT, GERMANY.

MECHANISM FOR REMOVING- RESIDUES FBOM VERTICAL RETORTS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1912. Serial No. 737,879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER Rorrz- HEIM and WILHELM RnMy, subjects of the King of Prussia, German Emperor, residing at the city of Duisburg-Ruhrort, 1n the Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, have invented certain.new and useful Improvements in Mechanism for Removing Residues from Vertical Retorts, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an apparatus for continuously removing the residues of ore from vertical retorts when obtaining zinc.

When it is wished to reduce zinc ores continuously in vertical retorts for the purpose of obtaining zinc, it is necessary constantly to charge in ores at the upper opening of the individual retorts and to remove the residues freed from the metal at the lower opening in proportion as the reaction takes place.

Usually mechanical devices are used for the removal of the residues at the lower opening ofthe retorts. This could be done by conveyer Worms and similar well-known apparatus. In practice, however, it is found that the highly heated residues of a pasty condition harden at the walls of the retorts and remain adhering thereto where the re torts project out of the highly heated furnace chamber and necessarily cool to a lower temperature. There isthen formed at the lower mouth of the retort a rim of slag which more and moreconstricts the opening and finally entirely closes it, so that the charge or residues can no longer automatically slide down through the mufie.

A primary object of our invention is to render this formation of slag non-injurious, and to provide a continuous process .of removing the residues of ore from vertical re torts, so that continuous working is assured.

Our invention consists in removing the crusts of slag which form at the lower mouth of the retorts when obtaining zinc, for the purpose of keeping opeirthe lower mouth and thus enabling continuous working. The process does not comprise the step of'removing the charge, butonly the removal of the deposits of slag in order that the residues can unimpededly slide through.

Our new apparatus has for its object not the continuous removal or carrying away of residues of ore in vertical retorts when obtaining zinc but is directed to the removal of the crusts of slag which adhere to the lower-mouth of the retorts for the purpose of keeping the lower mouth open so that said residues may readily pass therethrough for removal. v I

One form of apparatus adapted for carrying our new process into practice is represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus, and Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on the line X-X in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, a, designates the retort; it preferably is of circular section at its lower mouth and is mounted on the support 6. Instead of this arrangement the muflie may be lengthened.

c designates a cutter, e. g. a milling-cutter, which is mounted on the square shaft d and keyed thereto. The lower end of this shaft is turned around and is formed as a kind of toothed rack, as is shown at e. A pinion which is rotated by means of a crankhandle, meshes with the teeth of the rack, so that the shaft (Z can-be elevated and loW- ered by it. In the drawing the shaft d is Patented June as, r915.

shown guided by the spindle g. This spindle carries the worm 7c and the quantity of the charge which travels through the furnace can be regulated to a certainextent by varying the speed and pitch of the worm. The

spindle g is driven by worm gears Z, Z. The 7 support I) is provided with a cooling device comprising the chamber. m and the water supply and discharge pipes n. A' chute o is also provided. g

The apparatus works as follows :-The muflie a is constantly heated to white heat, the heat extending tothe line hh where the furnace chamberwlosed below. The

charge is reduced. and under the action of the heat is partially converted into slag; it

becomes pasty and slides down the walls of the muflle. Where the mufiie passes out of the furnace at h-h'the temperature falls at once, because the action of the furnace gases ceases here. Nevertheless, the heat penetrates a short distance beyondthe line h-h into the mouth ofthe muffle owing" to the conductivity of the material, so that the mufiie is still glowing there if not so hot that the downwardly sliding slag remains soft. The slag congeals and remains adhering at this place. The amount of adhering slag increases as slag slides down from above, so that after a short time a plug of slag 2' is formed, by which the lower mouth of the muflie is constricted so much that the residues no longer pass through it. The reduction process is consequently disturbed because the charge cannot slide down. Such a state of afiairs is however prevented according to our invention. By rotating the pinion f the ,shaft (Z and with it the milling-cutter c is elevated from time to time while the spindle g rotates anddrives with it the shaft 03. The cutter a now cuts away the adhering slag i which has become relatively brittle owing to the original percentage of reducing carbon. The shaft d is then lowered so that the cutter is exposed to the high temperature for only a short time.

We claim 1. Mechanism for removing residues from vertical retorts, comprising a rotatable cutter mounted below the discharge end of the vertical retort, and means for raising and lowering the cutter' as required during its rotation.

2. Mechanism for removing residues from thedischarge end of vertical retorts, comprising a vertical spindle, an annular cutter thereon, mechanism for rotating the cutter and means for manually raising and lowering the spindle.

3. In mechanism for removing residues from vertical mufiles, the combination with a water-cooled muflle support; of a chute below the support, a vertical spindle passing through the chute into the muflie support, an annular cutter on the spindle, a screw below the cutter, a circular rack on the spindle, a pinion for actuating the rack and means for driving the spindle, cutter and screw.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER ROITZHEIM. WILHELM REMY.

Witnesses HELEN NUFER, ALBERT NUFER. 

